Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

The circus came to town and excitement was in the air in many small towns across America. It was the 1930's in Jacob's memory. Even when Jacob was living in a home for the aged in his nineties, the circus was still traveling to a town nearby. That year was no exception. He remembered vividly how he had been a part of the circus. The other retirement home residents were excited too, remembering from their childhood days. For Jacob, it was different. He was really there.

When the Great Depression had struck and then suddenly his parents died in a car accident, his class days as a veterinary medical student were over. There was no money to pay for his expenses and he needed to find work just to survive. He was now flat broke. He joined the hobos on a freight train and headed out of town. He didn't know where he would end up. Well dressed but penniless, he soon discovered that he was on a circus train.

The train was part of the Benzini Brothers circus. They were known as the Most Spectacular Show on Earth if only by their own estimation. He was able to get hired on for a menial job until it became known that he was just shy of his degree in veterinary science. Suddenly, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. While there, he saw this most beautiful girl on a horse and was taken in by her. Marlena was an equestrian circus star but was married to the animal trainer. Jacob Jankowski is invited to join Marlena and her husband August for dinner in their private railway car. There is nothing that would have stopped him. He was excited to go and had a fine time.

The circus lifestyle was exciting to a twenty three year old in the company of a pretty circus star and an interesting trainer. They were the privileged set with the circus and had the best food and drink available just like the owners had. Jacob was now in good company. His budding romantic relationship with Marlena was done quietly and August didn't seem to suspect their interest.

Uncle Al, who owns the circus, doesn't always run the business well. He does some cruel things to keep the circus solvent. Occasionally, he would have some workers thrown off the train at night. He'd feed his dead animals to the lions. Sometimes he wouldn't pay his workers. When other circuses went out of business, he would buy parts of their operations for little money and then not have enough for his regular payroll. He did pick up some interesting additions. One purchase brought a huge elephant named Rosie to the menagerie. Al was delighted that now he not only had a vet with a Cornell education but his own elephant too.

Rosie was a smart animal but stubborn. The animal trainer was mean to the elephant but Jacob could get her to do a lot with his kindness. Marlena was also good with animals and recognized the abuse her husband was giving Rosie. August became suspicious one day of their relationship and beats up Jacob and abuses Marlena. Then she leaves him and goes to live in a hotel when she is not performing. Al tells Jacob that Malena and her husband need to get back together for the sake of the circus's survival and he was holding Jacob responsible. He told Jacob that if they didn't reunite, he would throw his roommate Walter off the train as well as Camel, another friend. They would be red lighted.

Jacob continues to visit her in her hotel room and it wasn't long before they were sleeping together. They then declare their love for one another. When Marlena returns to perform her act, she refuses to let August near her. Al is disappointed and becomes angry. He needs them to get back together. His circus depends on it.

One night, Jacob carried a knife between his teeth and jumped on top of the train. He was going to go along the top of the moving train to Augusts' train and then try to kill him. Jacob couldn't go through with it. He returned to his train and discovered that his friend and roommate had been red lighted. Probably he would have been thrown off, too if he had been home when the men came to do the dirty deed.

When the story is nearly over, some of the "red lighted" circus hands come back. They are now seeking revenge upon the owner. They release the animals and cause a stampede during a live performance. There is panic in the aisles; August is killed by Rosie the elephant. August split his head when the stake was pulled out of the ground. Jacob witnesses the incident and can't save August. Uncle Al is also found dead. The circus is then shutdown.

Marlena and Jacob leave, taking Rosie and some of the other animals with them. They begin their life together. Jacob and Marlena married and had 5 children. Seven years were at the Ringling Bros. circus and then Jacob got a job as a vet for the Chicago zoo.

At the end of the story, Jacob is at the retirement home, waiting for his family to pick him up and take him to the circus. He finds out no one is coming for him after all. He can't go to the circus. Then, Jacob goes to the circus, on his own. He meets Charlie the circus manager and asks if he can help by selling tickets. Charlie agrees to even let him come with the circus if he wants. Jacob accepts the offer and believes he has finally come home.

John Sprague is an American currently working in the mideast. He enjoys writing and working on his websites in his free time. He has a new site at http://www.marketingkindreds.com. His website has photos of the mideast and marketing articles that you may be interested in viewing. There are also website analysis tools and articles on genealogy and DNA.

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The Killing Circle by Andrew Pyper

Don't be put off by the title of this book, as it is written by a very good young Canadian author who has become much respected for his work both in Europe as well as America.

This is a compulsive read about a journalist named Patrick Rush who is also a single father and a failed novelist. Patrick decides to join a creative writing circle in Toronto. At the same time there is a murderer loose in the city who attacks his victims at random, leaving cryptic notes beside the bodies for the police investigators.

The circle meets each week for four weeks under their organizer, Conrad White, a strange but influential man who does not teach writing, but rather, facilitates it; the idea being to get the seven members to think and maybe write about their own lives, or a variation thereof. Each week the members will read out loud their new additions to their ever growing work.

It may be more than a coincidence that one of the circle named Angela starts to write a story about a child abductor named Sandman. Could the murderer who is at large in the city be the Sandman? Each time the circle meets, the more Patrick finds fiction blending with reality and he begins to believe that maybe he is being stalked by the Sandman. It isn't until his son, Sam, is snatched, that he realizes that he has to become much more involved in the murky lives of some of the seven members, if he is to find out about this mysterious character.

As the characters' secrets are exposed, so the twists and turns of this well written novel begin to make sense. It naturally becomes a page-turner as Pyper cleverly controls the tension. Without giving away the ending, suffice it to say that we have an individual in Patrick who for lack of a life story cannot write a good novel, but somehow ends up involved in a fascinating story that literally takes over his life.

This is a writer to watch for if you enjoy a good mystery/thriller. This book I would not classify as a thriller, but an excellent mystery; a fact which pleases me as we do not have to plough through the endless Hollywood style gruesome details of the victims.

It is exciting to find a really good Canadian mystery writer with a style that is readable and compelling, who does not rely on any silly grammatical antics to sell his work.

This book review has been written by Jeremy Moray who is the owner of the website http://www.jeremysbookreviews.com a site that has over 150 reviews of books from different genres. This site will be added to as I read more books that I enjoy.

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My Review of The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini

Amir and Hassan grow up together in Afghanistan. They are from totally different backgrounds. It doesn't matter to this boy but once in a while, Amir will talk down to his friend who is a Hazara. Then he catches himself and feels bad about it. They are like family and grew up together. Amir is the privileged son of a well to do Pashtun business person. Amir is educated and can read. Hassan, whose father is a servant, is illiterate and has a harelip too. One thing that they have in common is, neither of them has a mother at home and they both are excellent kite runners.

In Afghanistan, kite running is a very competitive sport. Hassan is a very good runner and helps his friend many times, since he has the gift of being able to calculate in his head exactly where the kite will land. He doesn't need to keep his eyes glued to the kite like most need to do. He is Amir's trusted assistant and friend and very clever at the game. Amir, knowing where the kite will land is a valuable asset and helps them to successfully win races and beat out other competitors. This lucky day, Amir and Hassan had won the local tournament by working together. Baba who rarely gave his son praise, gave much praise to Amir that day. He couldn't stop bragging about him for a change.

Meanwhile, Hassan goes to fetch the cut kite that is their main prize. Unfortunately, Hassan runs into the local bully who was always picking on the two younger boys. Assef didn't like Hassan mainly because he was a Hazara. Their tribe and religion was considered inferior to the proud Pashtun's. Of course, he didn't like Amir either because he hung around with the Hazara boy.

That day, Assef and two of his friends caught Hassan as he was about to retrive the trophy kite. Hassan refused to turn the kite over to him so Assef attacked the younger boy. He was assaulted and raped by the mean bully who was also a pervert. Wondering where his friend was, Amir ran into the rubble of Kabul to find him. He searched everywhere. When he hears the voice of Assef, he hides in fear. He is a witness to the assalt of his friend but he is too scared to do anything. Amir felt ashamed.

Amir's father loved both the boys although he usually puts down his son for not being brave. Amir also fears his father's blame is because his mother died giving birth to him. Rahim Khan, his father's friend, better understood how Amir acted and tries to compensate and make him feel good about himself. He supports his interests in writing which had been another source of his father's disappointment. Right then, he was receiving the praise from his dad. This was something that he always had hoped for, but on the inside, he was feeling really bad right now for other reasons. He had seen a horrible act being done to his best friend and he did nothing. He was frozen. Assef, the notoriously mean and violent older boy who had sadistic tendencies, had violated his friend. He also remembered a day in the past when Assef was going to hurt him. Hassan stood up for him that day with his trusty sling shot and threatened to shoot Assef's eye out if he touched his friend. Assef backed off that day but promised to get his revenge.

For some time after, Amir couldn't look his friend in the eye and Hassan doesn't mention the incident. Amir feels ashamed and unsure of himself and also can't understand why Hassan said nothing. Amir begins to wonder if Hassan may know that he knows just what had happened. Amir starts to avoid him. He is also annoyed that his Baba pays so much attention to Hassan. He secretly decides Hassan needs to go away and he then works up a plan.

Amir frames his friend as a thief and Hassan confesses to the false charge. His father still forgave the boy and didn't want him to have to go away. Hassan and his father named Ali, leave the property anyway. Baba had previously told Hassan and his father that there would always be a place for them there. Once Hassan leaves, Amir no longer is reminded of his being a coward but the guilt remains.

In a few years, the Russians come to Afghanistan and Amir and his father go to Peshawar and eventually to California and freedom. Amir always remembers what he did back there. They miss their nice home in Kabul but they surround themselves with other Afghan people who have also gone to America. Their housing is now a rundown apartment building. His father works at a filling station and they supplement their income with sales at the Sunday flea market where they see other countrymen. Amir takes classes at a community college to build up his writing skills. One Sunday he meets a girl there and eventually it develops into a romance.

Soraya and her family are kind to Amir and his father. Amir's father is then diagnosed with a terminal illness and goes down fast. Nearly on his deathbed, he tells his son that he will ask Soraya's father for permission for his son to take her hand in marriage. This is how it is done back home in Afghanistan. Amir is delighted that his father is able to do this for him before he dies. Soraya's father accepts the arrangement and the two of them marry. Not long after, Baba dies. Still later, Amir and Soraya discover that they can not have children.

Amir then becomes a successful author. Years later, Amir receives a phone call from Rahim Khan, who is also near the end of his life. His one dying wish is that Amir will come to see him one last time in his native land. He tells Amir that he will tell him how he can be good again. Amir goes, not knowing exactly what he meant by that.

Rahim Khan fills him in on all the things that have happened back in Afghanistan and about Ali and Hassan. Ali was killed and Hassan had a wife and son. The son is named Sohrab. Rahim returned to his father's house to care for it and invited Ali and Hassan back. The Taliban made him leave and took over the house. Hassan refused to give up the house and both he and his wife were killed. The son was the only one who survived besides Khan.

Rahim then tells him that Ali was not Hassan's real father but Baba was. Hassan was your half brother. He thought he should know. Amir felt terrible. Then Khan tells him the real reason he called him to come back there.He wanted Amir to go to Kabul and rescue Hassan's son, from an orphanage. Amir's head was spinning by this time. Khan assured him that since Sohrab was his blood relative, he needed to do the right thing. He also told Amir that he knew what happened to Hassan and this was his chance to make things right and feel good again. He knew it bothered Amir all these years. Amir went reluctantly although he knew it was the right thing to do.

Amir returns to Taliban Kabul with a travel guide. Farid and Amir search all the orphanages looking for Sohrab. They finally find where he had been. He discovers that a Taliban official had taken him from the home. Amir had to go to a soccer match to look for a man who took the boy. The guide Farid had managed to get an appointment at the official's home and said they had business to discuss.

Amir came wearing a fake beard and a pair of sunglasses. Amir met with the official who recognized him even in his disguise. The official is Assef from his childhood. Assef asks about Hassan, Ali and Baba. Sohrab is being held captive at his house dressed like a little girl and Amir wondered if he was being assaulted by the man. Amir asked him to set the boy free and he would take him out of there. Assef agreed to let him go provided Amir could beat him as they would fight over the child. Amir fought hard but was losing at it. Sohrab used his slingshot that his dad had taught him to use. The rock knocked out Assef's left eye. Amir and the boy escaped and drove away with Farid.

Sohrab and Amir head to America. He promises the boy that he will never have to go to an orphanage again, following a long adjustment period, Sohrab refused to speak or even look at his new mother. He was finally coming around. They had had a terrible time. Sohrab had been emotionally hurt deep inside and it took a long time before he felt good about himself again.

Amir had spent a great deal of time talking about his father and one day, he started to respond to them. He finally had a chance to be renewed and whole again. During their kite running in America, Sohrab began to interact with him. Amir takes the kite one day and looks at Sohrab and says "For you, a thousand times over." This is a phrase that Hassan had said many years before and more recently to his own son. Almost a smile came to the boys face. Now there was hope. Amir now had a son and he felt good again.

John Sprague hails from Hampden Maine. He is presently in Iraq working as a contractor. They say it is safe over here now but only time will tell. In my free time, I do a lot of reading and enjoy writing. Please let me know what you think of my writing and if you enjoy any of my work. Let me know if I can be of help to you. Please email me or visit my picture website at http://johnsprague.ws.

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A Review of Maudiegirl And The Von Bloss Kitchen by Carl Muller

Maudiegirl Esther Kimball's first husband, Campbell, died on the voyage to Ceylon. Her second, Kimball, succumbed to malaria. She then married Cecilprins and became his tower of strength. This is how Carl Muller describes - for want of a better word - the heroine of Maudiegirl And The Von Bloss Kitchen.

The book continues the story the author began in the award-winning The Jam Fruit Tree, a tale of Burgher life in Sri Lanka. If "heroine" was a slightly inappropriate description of Maudiegirl, then "story" is certainly not a description of this book's plot. Simply put, the book presents a picture of life within the Burgher community, an island within an island. It illustrates, but does not lead. Read it for an experience, not a journey.

Nominally Dutch, but Sinhalese-speaking, Asian born but with European aspirations, the Burghers are a wholly integrated race apart. The names survive - Van Der Poorten, Caspars etc - but the identity is merely confused. Whose isn't?

Most of this Burgher family's life revolves around food and sex, not always in that order. Sustenance and procreation occupy most of the time, with recreation - usually in the form of sex - taking up the rest. Maudiegirl is the pillar of the household, probably of the community. She brings people together, solves problems, disposes wisdom and occasional rebuke via her cooking. She has a recipe for every occasion. Her meals can cure ills, solve problems, offer advice, and her cooking skills are recognised throughout the Von Bloss family, even the community. The cooking's unfamiliar and complex mix of influences, European, Asian, Dutch, English, Sri Lankan, Indian and American, reflect the community in which they live and its place in the world.

A woman who can't conceive eat too much fish. Need something stronger. Stewed eel works wonders. Only wonder what. Dunnyboy expose himself in public. Big thing. Worries sisters. Eat pork pie. Daughter need baby. Need hammering. Make plum pudding (dried fruit only, butter a pan, boil or steam for four hours). Problem solved.

Carl Muller's style is pithy, occasionally playful, often funny, always earthy, sometimes vaguely embarrassing. He sails metaphorically close to winds and occasionally obfuscates via the inclusion of unexplained, un-translated Sinhalese words and phrases. He makes no excuse for this, and invites the interested reader to find a Sinhalese speaker to help translate this world language and explain, and thereby intensify the experience and promote communication between races and cultures. So there!

Maudiegirl And The Von Bloss Kitchen, this part novel, part cookbook, thus records the day-to-day, reflects life and opens a window onto a perhaps unique culture that is in no way special. There is no plot, no obvious sequence of events, only everyday life as it predictably and unpredictably unfolds. It is also a superb cookbook, recording the recipes of an expert cook. And refreshingly, whatever she cooks and in whatever style, no-one ever seems to dislike anything, pick at their food, question its authenticity, count its calories or even mention omega-3. It's the food of a living culture.

Philip Spires
Author of Mission and A Fool's Knot, African novels set in Kenya
http://www.philipspires.co.uk
Migwani is a small town in Kitui District, eastern Kenya. My books examine how social and economic change impact on the lives of ordinary people. They portray characters whose identity is bound up with their home area, but whose futures are determined by the globaised world in which they live.

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